Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Secret Training Race Day Personal Care Kit

8
£49.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Everything you need before and after a race in one handy zipped bag
Weight: 
1,045g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

One of the products that has got me through the recent race season has been the Secret Training Race Day Personal Care Kit. Developed by SIS founder Tim Lawson, the small zipped bag contains all the essential pre and post-race care products you need.

Preparation is really important if you want to get the most out of any bike ride or race, and equally caring for your body afterwards isn't just about cleaning the bike. With that in mind, the Care Kit includes everything you need to prepare the body for a ride, and everything you need to clean up after.

There is start oil for warming up cold legs, chamois cream, sunscreen and lip balm and, for pinning your race number to your jersey, a small metal of safety pins. For after the race, you get a post-race wash spray, two microfibre body cloths, a pack of hygiene wipes and hand sanitiser.

It's everything you need before and after a ride. Now, there's nothing to stop you buying all the components separately and assembling the pack yourself, but the beauty of the Secret Training Race Day Personal Care Kit is that is all comes ready to go.

I'll be honest, I was a bit skeptical when it first arrived, but I gave it a chance and after a couple of rides and races, I found myself converted. The bag now lives in my kit bag so travels with me to all my races. It's so handy having everything you need instantly accessible. It comes in very useful when you have no choice but to get changed in the car - oh the glamour of amateur racing.

There's also space in the bag to customise it with any extras you might need, and it has become a regular travel bag for trips away and events requiring a bit of travelling, so you can stick some deodorant, toothpaste and brush, spare contact lenses and anything else you might need in the bag.

Each of the products works well. The chamois cream in particular is excellent, very similar to something like DZNuts or Chapeau Chamois Cream in consistency. It's a small tube though and doesn't last long, but you can buy replacements from the Secret Training website (so you could buy any other products individually if you don't want the whole Care Kit).

Having a tin of pins has become very useful on a number of occasions, I'm now never short on pins. Yes you could buy a bag of pins from the shop but I'm just not that organised. This just shows the attention to detail put into the Care Kit.

The start oil works just like any embrocation, but it's very runny and can be quite messy to apply if you're not quick to wipe it in. I'm dubious about its benefits, but then I'm not a fan of embrocation generally.

The other products works just fine. The sunscreen smells lovely and is easily applied, the post-race wash works a treat at remove dried flem, encrusted salt and road grime, and the hand sanitiser is a nice addition.

Each of the products can be bought individually, useful when you run out, with the whole kit costing £49.99. That seems quite a bit, but each of the products is competitively priced compared to similar offerings from rival companies.

It's a really well thought out bag with all the essentials you need for before and after a race. Even if you don't race, it's useful for regular cyclists, either to have at home or keep at the office.

There's been plenty of development of care products for the bicycles we ride, but there is now a growing market for care products for the cyclist, with new brands coming to the market all the time.

With this debut care kit, Secret Training have established themselves with a really well thought out products that provides everything the performance cyclist needs before and after a race, ride or event.

Verdict

Everything you need before and after a race in one handy zipped bag

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Secret Training Race Day Personal Care Kit

Size tested: Black

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

A range of secret weapons created especially for cyclists, runners & triathletes. Each product has been specified to answer a real need with essential ingredients, to ensure fitness for purpose without unnecessary & unhealthy additions. Designed to be with you every step, stroke or pedal of-the-way. From warm-up to clean-up the product range carries, invigorates, protects, sanitises, calms, cools, moisturises, nourishes, soothes & cleans.

Secret Training is a range of race day and training personal care products from SIS founder Tim Lawson. The products include sunscreen, chamois cream, hand cleaners, lip balm, post-race wash and much more, and even towels and bags. Think of it as everything you need to 'invigorate, protect, sanitise, calm, cool, moisturise and nourish," says the company.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

No facilities, no time, no space, this handy pack keeps everything together even if you're not. Filled with the complete Strip system, it's fully loaded and race ready.

9 Pieces includes;

Anti-Chafing cream

Start Oil

Micro Fibre Body Cloths

Post Race Wash

Lip Balm

Pins in a Tin

Sun Screen

Hand Sanitiser

Hygiene Wipes

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Easier than buying all the individual parts separately and nicely packaged in a durable zipped bag with carry handle, with space for adding your own extra bits.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Goes with me to every race and event and lives permanently in my kit bag. Wouldn't be without it now.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Everything you need, and didn't know you needed, in one handy bag.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The chamois cream tube could be a bit bigger and the start oil is a bit runny.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes and I'll be buying refills when I run out.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

A really nice product and genuinely useful for racing cyclists, but also handy for the commute if you leave it under your desk at work

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 31  Height: 180  Weight: 67

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, mtb,

 

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

Add new comment

6 comments

Avatar
andybwhite | 9 years ago
0 likes

"The chamois cream in particular is ... a small tube though and doesn't last long"
er.. one application? two applications? how much are you getting for your money?

"a tin of pins ...., I'm now never short on pins"
really? how many do you need? and just how many pins are in that tin? a lifetime supply?

"The sunscreen ....is easily applied,"
easier than normal sunscreen? without using your hands?

"the post-race wash works a treat "
it wouldn't be water would it? I got a bottle full for free.

"The start oil ... very runny"
you mean cheap?

"and the hand sanitiser"
AKA WetWipe

Who in their right mind would spend £50 on this lot instead of something useful like a tyre or 15pints of ale?  3

Avatar
andyp replied to andybwhite | 9 years ago
0 likes
andybwhite wrote:

"The chamois cream in particular is ... a small tube though and doesn't last long"
er.. one application? two applications? how much are you getting for your money?

"a tin of pins ...., I'm now never short on pins"
really? how many do you need? and just how many pins are in that tin? a lifetime supply?

"The sunscreen ....is easily applied,"
easier than normal sunscreen? without using your hands?

"the post-race wash works a treat "
it wouldn't be water would it? I got a bottle full for free.

"The start oil ... very runny"
you mean cheap?

"and the hand sanitiser"
AKA WetWipe

Who in their right mind would spend £50 on this lot instead of something useful like a tyre or 15pints of ale?  3

a few seconds after clicking the link on this review, I had most of the answers to your questions. For instance, the hand sanitiser isn't a wipe, let alone a wet wipe. The chamois creme is 75ml, number of applications would depend on how much you use per application rather than how much is in the tube. The post-race wash isn't just water. And so on.

Research. You should try it some time.

Avatar
andybwhite replied to andyp | 9 years ago
0 likes

I still know where my £50 would go  1

btw andyp - I shouldn't have to ask those questions and do the research myself, that's what the reviewer is supposed to have done.

Avatar
truffy | 9 years ago
0 likes

...just make sure that the urine is from the same gender, or they may diagnose you as pregnant.

Avatar
Beatnik69 replied to truffy | 9 years ago
0 likes
truffy wrote:

...just make sure that the urine is from the same gender, or they may diagnose you as pregnant.

or as a west highland terrier.  21

Avatar
HalfWheeler | 9 years ago
0 likes

...bag of blood, needles, container full of fresh untainted urine...

Latest Comments